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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: foot · plane · degree · sharp · spring · dip · shower · drill

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. spring — of water
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. degree — from a university
  7. foot — a measure
  8. drill — the tool
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. plane — a tool
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. degree — temperature
  13. drill — a practice
  14. spring — a coil
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. shower — to wash
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. drill — army training
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. degree — an amount
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. spring — the season
  23. dip — to sink
  24. sharp — clever

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com